Currents

For 20 years, southern Sudan made international headlines for two civil wars that killed an estimated two million people, displaced another four million and devastated its countryside before ending in 2005. Recently the civil war has once again erupted with ­broken cease-fires. But during a short semi-peaceful period there was a bright spot with the […]

According to the 2014 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey released May, consumer-members belonging to not-for-profit electric cooperatives are more satisfied with their utility than consumers served by either investor-owned (IOU) or municipal utilities. Touchstone Energy Cooperatives received an overall customer satisfaction score of 81 — the highest score for any electric-only utility. IOUs and […]

The Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society announced their participation in “Blue Star Museums,” a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and more than 2,000 museums across America that will offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor […]

Did you know that Illinois: ■ leads the U.S. in processed food sales. ■ is 2nd in the nation in corn and ­soybean production. ■ is 4th in the nation for agricultural exports. ■ is 5th in the nation for ­processed food exports. ■ is 4th in the nation for the ­number of farmers’ markets. […]

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jo Ann Emerson announced that rural electric cooperative members have submitted more than 500,000 comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in opposition to the proposed New Source Performance Standards rule regulating new power plants. “More than 500,000 Americans have united to oppose ­regulations that will constrain fuel types […]

In an effort to help boost tourism in the area, Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative, SIEC, hung a 10-foot by 10-foot barn quilt, May 7, at its facilities in Dongola. The quilt was hung on the side of a truck storage ­building. Motorists will be able to see the colorful display when they drive by SIEC […]

The GeoAlliance geothermal grant program, which was developed by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives in Springfield and Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation in Chicago, is now closed. Throughout four phases of the ­program, which spanned more than 10 years, nearly $1.5 million was provided to not-for-profit and public entities located in Illinois cooperative territories […]

It’s in Dieterich, Ill., and sur­rounding rural areas served by EJ Water Cooperative. The American Water Works Association in its annual “Best of the Best” Tap Water Taste Test rated EJ Water one of the top 20 water utilities in the country and the best in Illinois for 2013. One of the ­reasons for the […]

The Center for Renewable Energy is leading the coordination of The Illinois Renewable Energy Conference with active participation from four statewide organizations to provide plenary speakers of interest to all areas of ­renewable energy plus breakout tracks to focus specifically on wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. Representatives from the Illinois Wind Working Group, Illinois Solar […]

The decision by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) in February clears the way for the nearly 400-mile-long Illinois Rivers electric transmission project that will create jobs, facilitate the delivery of low-cost power and improve the reliability and efficiency of the electric power grid. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ameren Corporation […]